Page 67 of Property of Crypt Keeper

The corners of his mouth turned down as I saw him starting to piece it together.

“Yeah, so basically when I’m fucking them.”

Fury flashed in his gaze as he bolted to his feet and grabbed my biceps, pulling me up until we were toe-to-toe and he was practically snarling. “Over. My. Dead. Body.”

He released me, opened his top drawer, and pulled out a small stack of T-shirts. Then he grabbed a rolled-up towel and shoved it in my hands.

Though I could already sense the power humming from the blades within, I unrolled it to find the gleaming and etched blades staring back at me. Satisfaction bloomed in my chest as I reverently laid the towel on the bed. Then I methodically sheathed each one. Seven in all.

“Ahh, it’s good to have you home, my pretties,” I purred as I stroked one of the handles. “I wasn’t happy to find you had taken them from my car,” I snapped as I glared at him.

“I had one of the prospects clean it out when he picked it up. I’ve seen the way you wield those. I wasn’t taking any chances,” he admitted without an ounce of shame. He closed in on me again. “But if you use a single one of those against one of my brothers or our families, there will be nowhere you can hide that I won’t find. Because I will relentlessly hunt you down.”

For a moment, I was taken aback. Then I realized he had no idea. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“The mate bond. You were right, you know. I cannot kill you without dying myself. Your family is now my family.” My head tilted slightly as I studied his reaction.

Surprise widened his eyes, then his lips parted with no words coming out.

“I am you, and you are me, together, one we will always be,” I recited the ancient phrase that had been in my species since the beginning of time. Or at least since the first time a demon fell in love with a human and tied his essence to them.

He raised his hand, and his rough fingertips traced the curve of my cheek.

“Do you understand now how we are linked? For a demon to choose a mate, the human must agree to have their lifeline tied to the demon. They essentially become a demon to be with them. If one dies, the other dies. Fated mates for demons are practically unheard of—already, our hearts beat as one.” I reached up and gently placed his hand over my heart as I rested my other hand over his.

As if a complete circuit was made, we could both feel the other’s heart beating in unison to ours.

There was a loud knock on the door.

“You ready in there?” Mako shouted from the other side.

“I have to go,” he murmured, but he didn’t move.

“Okay,” I breathed as I stared into his gold and green gaze.

“Crypt!” Mako called out before he pounded again. “Clock’s ticking!”

“Coming!” Gideon replied, then he dipped his head until his mouth met mine.

Immediate combustion. Need rushed through me, and he grabbed my ass as I jumped up into his arms. The incessant pounding finally broke through the passion-fueled fog, and our connection reluctantly broke.

“Don’t do anything crazy.”

I grinned.

He frowned.

“I promise,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“We’ll continue this tonight,” he promised as he set me down until my feet touched the ground. With one last brief peck, he spun on his heel and went out the door.

“I can’t wait,” I whispered to the empty room.

“I would rather fight an archdemon.”

Boomslang didn’t even look up from the paperwork spread across the bar.